“Oh, you poor thing,” she whispered, her face full of sympathy. “I wish I could help but everything I just told you, I told the police, honey. Believe me, I almost wish Kerry had a boyfriend so we could pin this on someone, but as I said. She’s a good girl.”
Hobbs looked at me, and I think he knew what I was thinking.
Kerry was a very good girl…
From the corner of my eye, I saw the ER room doors swish open, but I wasn’t paying a great deal of attention until I heard that TV voice.
“Mr. and Mrs. Carver?”
Dean Maverick.
The tips of my ears burned hot as I hopped up from my chair, letting the blanket fall to the floor. “Oh, no you don’t, you sleaze!” I whisper-yelled, trying not to disturb the receptionist. “You leave these people alone. They only just got here and already you’re looking to poke and prod the child they haven’t even been able to see yet? Well, I’m here to tell you, ambulance chaser, not while I’m breathing! Take yourself and your cheap outlet-mall suit right on out of here!” I pointed to the door, my finger shaking with my rage.
But my outburst didn’t even lift a hair on Dean Maverick’s perfect head. “I have every right to be here, Miss Valentine.”
“Did they teach you that in your online class for lawyering?”
His eyes gleamed, as though sparring with me was something he lived for. Dean smiled lasciviously when he said, “My law degree comes from the University of Virginia, just FYI.”
“Huh. I didn’t know they had online classes.”
Now he full-on grinned. “You are very spicy, Ms. Valentine. I like a girl with gusto.”
“Do you like a guy who’s bigger than you by at least six inches and fifty pounds escorting you from places you’re not wanted?” Hobbs asked, looming over him. “I’m going to make a suggestion for a peaceful end to this by asking you to leave.” Hobbs hitched his eyes toward the door.
Dean Maverick sized him up and sucked his teeth as he rocked back on his heels. “Easy, big guy. I’m just trying to help the people out and catch a killer.”
I nearly blew my head off from the sky-high shot my blood pressure took. “You’re doing no such thing. You’re looking to cash in on people’s pain and get them to sue for some frivolous cause that won’t win in even the most three-ring circus of court rooms, all so you can make a buck and bill for nonexistent hours. Go away, Mr. Maverick, or I’m going to call the police and tell them you’re harassing people—and then you’d better hope you took the class in how to post your own bail!”
Dean lifted his chin in arrogant defiance, but his smile remained. Unruffled, he pulled a business card from his pocket and held it out to Mrs. Carver. “If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to call.”
Oh, the number of bad words I was fighting to keep on the inside right now was off the charts. But I clenched my fists and fought for all the restraint Atti preached.
Mrs. Carver took the card, but she threw it on the ground and, as she looked directly at Dean Maverick, she ground her foot on it and turned her back.
Still, Dean wasn’t at all affected. He took his time, strolling out of the emergency room, his tan trench coat swishing about his knees as he did.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Carver,” I apologized. “He’s been hanging around, looking to score clients with this whole mess. I’ll try to make sure the hospital knows he’s been hassling some of us.”
“Some of us?” she asked, a worried frown on her face. “Who else is there?”
I explained her daughter’s connection to the reasons why Dean Maverick would come sniffing around, excluding the bit about the taillight Stiles told me they’d found, virtually proving she’d been at least in the vicinity of Feeney’s.
“The night my uncle was hurt and the night Gable Norton was killed he was hoping to talk to my Uncle Monty because somehow he’s roped Anna Norton into making him her attorney.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Carver?” asked a tall man with a white doctor’s coat and a stethoscope around his neck.
I held my breath when he approached them, praying as hard as I’d ever prayed that Kerry would at least physically be all right.
I backed away, not wanting to intrude, but Mrs. Carver reached for my hand, pulling me toward her. “This is the woman who stayed with my girl in the ambulance. She can hear whatever it is you have to tell us.”
Hobbs came to stand by my side, grabbing my other hand and standing close.
“Overall, she’s in pretty rough shape. I don’t know how long she was out in this weather, but she has some hypothermia that concerns us, aside from her cuts and bruises. She was also dehydrated and exhaustion is certainly a factor. When she came to, we weren’t able to calm her down, even after reassuring her she was in the hospital and safe. So we’ve given her a sedative for the moment, to encourage peaceful rest, and an IV of fluids, and we’ll also run some tests. But she’s a strong young lady, and physically, her future looks good. You can see her for a bit once she’s settled in her room, but I caution you, she’s pretty banged up. ”
I tried to hide the long breath I let out, hissing from my lips like air from a balloon. Thank you, Goddess.
I couldn’t help it. Tears fell from my eyes as Mr. and Mrs. Carver hugged. And then Mrs. Carver hugged me. “Thank you for taking care of my baby. Thank you.”
The Carvers left us to go tend to Kerry—and it was in that moment that everything came crashing down around me. My uncle’s surgery, Kerry Carver’s condition, looking for a killer in a haystack.
As the quiet settled over me, and the last two days’ events seeped in, I dropped my chin to my chest and shuddered an inhale, crying in gratitude and relief.
Hobbs wrapped his arm around me, and I let my head fall to his chest, where I had a good cry.
Today, I’d let all my fear out.
But tomorrow?
Tomorrow I’d take on the day like a fierce warrior and figure out who did this to my uncle, to Kerry Carver, to Gable Norton.
But that would have to wait until tomorrow.
My phone’s loud buzz woke me from a sound sleep. I answered groggily, “Hello?”
“Miss Valentine?”
I sat straight up in bed, my eyes flying open wide. “Yes?”
“This is Belinda Espinoza, from the hospital, do you remember me?”
I scrubbed my eyes with my hand and nodded, then remembered I had to say the word out loud. “Yes, Belinda. I remember. Is everything all right?”
Terror set in, my mouth going dry as I swung my legs over the side of my bed and Atti buzzed to life, flying to my shoulder.
“We need you to come into the hospital, please. We can talk then.”
I froze in fear. “Is my uncle…is he all right?”
There was a small hesitation before she said, “Yes. He’s all right, but we do need you to come in right away.”
“Should I bring his husband with me?” I squeaked, afraid of the answer.
Belinda paused another moment, and then answered, “It might be better if you didn’t disturb him.”
I looked at the bleached-wood clock above my fireplace and blinked. It was three-thirty in the morning. “Okay, give me ten minutes and I’ll be right there.”